Finding a Lost Love
by janel.larue
Summary: It must have been twenty-two years since the new move. Whenever she thought about it, something made the back of her mind itch. And she couldn't figure out why. Night after night she would have nightmares. Or were they memories?


"Chihiro...! Chihiro!"

Chihiro jolted out of her skin when finally she came to, looking around and up from the book she had been reading. She stared up at the slender female that had been calling her name, staring down at her as if she was perplexed. "What's the matter with you?"

Chihiro rubbed her eyes. "Sorry, Alli, I guess I just didn't get enough sleep last night…"

In truth, she hadn't gotten **any** sleep last night. The barely visible circles under her eyes, the dozing off… "Well, I'm heading out. I wanted to ask if you wanted me to get anything?" Alli asked. The girl was a newfound friend and roommate since Chihiro had moved into Europe. It was a long way from home, but she wanted to explore the world.

"Oh…. Well… We do need milk and toilet paper."

Alli gave a roll of her blue eyes. "I got all of the essentials down. What about for you?"

Chihiro put a finger to her lips in thought. "I do need to pick up some more spices. Salmon… Just give me the list," she said, slim fingers reaching out toward her. Alli quickly handed the piece of paper over.

After some scribbling, she finally had everything she could think of. "Make sure to get some Sake for me, kay?" Chihiro asked with a smile. "And this book! I demand the next one!" she called as Alli had turned and headed out the door.

"Okayyy," Alli called with a laugh. "See you soon!"

 _Slam_.

Chihiro was alone again. The house was silent. Her brown orbs searched the room. It was nothing like her true home… She was kind of homesick…

After highschool, Chihiro made the decision to go study abroad. This meant leaving her parents, despite how much they would miss her. She missed them, too. Chihiro had moved into Europe. The United Kingdom to be exact. While there wasn't nearly as many Japanese in Europe, there were still people like Alli. Alli had been a kind enough soul to greet her on her first or second day of classes for college. Her english was a little rusty, so Chihiro didn't understand her completely. Eventually, Alli and Chihiro became close friends. Alli taught her more and more english so she could socialize more. And before they knew it, the two had bonded enough to move in with each other. Chihiro was grateful.

Chirio got up and padded off to the bathroom. She glimpsed into the mirror, staring at herself. Over the years, her hair had grown. She hadn't cut it, only trimming off split ends. She'd grown taller and less pudgy. Curves had settled in to indicate her status of a woman now.

 _We'll meet again someday…_

Chihiro's brow furrowed. She looked around. "That voice…"

Upon finishing up in the bathroom, she headed back toward the table where she had originally been. Just as she was sitting down, a pain suddenly shot along the front of her head. Chihiro immediately cringed and put a hand to her forehead, hoping that massaging the aching location would make it go away.

 _Don't be afraid…_

"Ugh… what…" Chihiro uttered under uneven breaths. She squeezed her head, getting up and stumbling in the process. She caught herself on the wall, but then continued back to the bathroom. She fumbled for the lightswitch. A gasp surfaced and she briefly went still. A vision flashed before her but she couldn't clearly see what it was before it was gone. A bright light. A tunnel? Chihiro grimaced as the pain continued. She pulled the medicine cabinet open and squinted to find what she was looking for. She grasped onto a bottle and popped the cap off, jiggling two pills out and into her mouth. She ducked down and shoved the faucet up for water, slurping water in eagerly. The quicker the pills went down, the quicker the relief from this painful headache. Despite the amount of time it would take for the pills to start working, she made her way out of the bathroom and to her bedroom instead. Laying down might help. She bumped the wall and another flash appeared. Chihiro stumbled, catching herself before the world was back. She hurried to the bed and sat. "What is going on!?" she huffed angrily. This hardly happened. Why now?

 _Chihiro…_

 _You have to promise not to look back. Not until you cross through the tunnel..._

 _I remember you falling into my river._

 _River…._

 _...u river…_

 _...aku river…_

"The Kohaku River…" Chihiro spoke, eyes wide with realization.

Everything was coming back to her. The spirit world. Yubaba, Rin… And even…

Haku.

* * *

 **^ All Spirited Away characters belong to Hayao Miyazaki and Studio Ghibli.**


End file.
